Items related to The Beat of a Different Drum: The Life and Science...

The Beat of a Different Drum: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman - Hardcover

 
9780198539483: The Beat of a Different Drum: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
Few would argue that Richard Feynman was one of the greatest American-born theoretical physicists of the twentieth century, and fewer still would dispute that he was the most iconoclastic. In the words of the eminent mathematician Mark Kac, geniuses are of two kinds: the ordinary, and the magicians. Feynman was a magician of the highest caliber. No one could guess how his mind worked, how he could make transcendental leaps of the imagination so fearlessly. A true original, Feynman was both an inspired, Nobel-prize winning pioneer, and a born showman. He never lost sight of his vision of science as "a long history of learning how not to fool ourselves."
The Beat of a Different Drum is a superb account of Feynman's life and work, encompassing a singular career that spanned from the detonation of the first atomic bomb at Los Alamos to the frontiers of our understanding of the universe. The first biography to offer deep insight into both Feynman's scientific achievements and his personal life, it is written by Jagdish Mehra. An accomplished physicist and historian of science in his own right, Mehra knew Feynman for thirty years, and their friendship deeply informs all aspects of the book. Feynman invited Mehra to spend three weeks with him shortly before his death in 1988, and after Feynman died, following a ten year battle against cancer, Mehra interviewed almost eighty of his friends and colleagues. They share their recollections of Feynman from his precocious childhood in Queens, New York, to his final days, painting an unforgettable portrait of a scientist who insisted throughout his life on taking the whole of nature as the arena of his science and his imagination. Mehra writes clearly and comprehensively about the theoretical and technical aspects of Feynman's achievements: his crucial role in the development of the atomic bomb; his association with Hans Bethe at Cornell, where he worked out his famous path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics, and went on to develop the Feynman diagrams, so ubiquitous in quantum field theory, elementary particle physics, and statistical mechanics; and the full range and depth of his work from 1950 until shortly before his death at the California Institute of Technology.
Here, too, are intimate glimpses into the development of Feynman's inner life, including his devoted relationship with his extraordinary father, a self-taught uniform salesman, and his first marriage, to his boyhood sweetheart, Arline, whom he married knowing that she had only a short time to live. Feynman was an eyewitness to some of this century's key moments of scientific discovery, and Mehra devotes an entire chapter to Feynman's more philosophical reflections on the implications of these discoveries. Flamboyant and impatient, but dedicated to his vision of a better world through cooperation and the fearless pursuit of scientific truth, Feynman emerges here as a genius whom fellow Nobel laureate Julian Schwinger remembered as "an honest man; the outstanding intuitionist of our age and a prime example of what may lie in store for anyone who dares to follow the beat of a different drum."

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

About the author:
Jagdish Mehra is the author of many articles and books on twentieth-centuryphysics, including Einstein, Hilbert, and the Theory of Gravitation and the first five volumes (seven books) of The Historical Development of QuantumTheory, with Helmut Rechenburg. The Citadel Distinguished Professor of Physics at Charleston, South Carolina, Jadish Mehra received the Humboldt Prize in 1976.
Review:
'As a theoretical physicist with a publication record in the history of quantum mechanics, Mehra seems to be exceptionally well qualified for his task ... Feynman's life story is well told ... Mehra's biography is a useful book ... It's a fount of new information about Feynman, much of it
presented in the master's own voice. For physicists, this may be the preferred biography.'
London Review of Books

'If it were possible for anyone to write an authoritative account of the life and science of Richard Feynman, Jagdish Mehra would seem to be the man to do it. Mehra's biography is a useful book. It's a fount of new information about Feynman, much of it presented in the master's own voice.'
London Review of Books

'As a theoretical physicist with a publication record in the history of quantum mechanics. mehra seems to be exceptionally well qualified for his task. If it were possible for anyone to write an authoritative account of the life and science of Richard Feynman, Jagdish Mehra would seem to be
the man to do it. ... a useful book, It's a fount of new information about Feynman, much of it presented in the master's own voice.'
London Review of Books, May '94

'pleasure lies in the fact that India's finest historian of science has produced this outstanding biography'
Shiv Visvanathan, Financial Express

`most comprehensive biography written to date ... one of most prominent American theoretical physicists of this century'
New technical Books, Jan/Feb 94

`a serious biography ... Mehra gives a very comprehensive survey of all of Feynman's achievements in research, teaching and other physics-related activities ... also includes interesting surveys of his less well-known activities.'
Times Higher,

`the book has several merits. One is the overview it gives of the vast scope of Feynman's physics ... I ... recommend it for its wealth of Feynman material (much of which is new), feeding our endless fascination with this irresistable character.'
Michael Berry, University of Bristol, Physics World, August 1994

`I really enjoyed this as a 'holiday read.' I learnt quite a lot about how this unusual man approached his work, and it stimulated me to chase up Feymna's own papers....'
Contemporary Physics

`very much a theoretical physicist's account of the life and works of a fellow theoretical physicist and, as such, perhaps gives a more perceptive account of the interplay between Feynman's personal life and his work than could be given by any non-physicist ... a scholarly ... work ... this is
the book on Feynman that should grace your bookshelf.'
Steve Donnelly, The Skeptic, Volume 8, Number 4, 1994

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherOxford University Press
  • Publication date1994
  • ISBN 10 0198539487
  • ISBN 13 9780198539483
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages680
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780198518877: The Beat of a Different Drum: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780198518877
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1996
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Oxford University Press (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0198539487

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 25.80
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
LibraryMercantile
(Humble, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # newMercantile_0198539487

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 30.66
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Clarendon Press, Oxford (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover First Edition Quantity: 1
Seller:
Nighttown Books
(South Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hard Cover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. First Edition. First Printing in dust jacket BRAND NEW, no remainder mark, pristine unread new copy (dj in mylar protector); 8vo; (xxxii) 630pp indexed & illus. Seller Inventory # 32514

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 28.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.95
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Oxford University Press (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0198539487

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 35.25
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Oxford University Press (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0198539487

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 35.30
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Oxford University Press (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks76014

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 59.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Oxford University Press (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 2.92. Seller Inventory # Q-0198539487

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 64.21
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 6.29
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Oxford University Press (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0198539487

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 68.47
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

The Beat of a Different Drum: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman Mehra, Jagdish
Published by Oxford University Press (1994)
ISBN 10: 0198539487 ISBN 13: 9780198539483
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Aragon Books Canada
(OTTAWA, ON, Canada)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # NHU-080

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 96.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 23.00
From Canada to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds